Dear Parents, Students and Colleagues
 
The highlight of last week was the appointment of the student leadership team, led by our new Head Boy, Richard Shelly, Head Girl, Zowelele Kotamo, Deputy Head Girl, Jessie Au and Deputy Head Boy , Vishwas Arora. The rest of the team comprises Rhea Charan, Charley Bhagat, George Roberts and Shahrukh Khan.
 
All eight members of the team put themselves forward to compete for these prestigious posts, writing and delivering a presentation three times, at the assemblies for each of the three Colleges at the Academy. Speaking publicly in front of your peers is something that many adults find daunting but I was immensely impressed with the quality and content of all eight speeches. Their delivery really was incredibly professional. Each took a different approach, setting out what they would do if elected and explaining how they would best serve the needs of the student community. An election followed with both students and staff eligible to vote.
 
I have great expectations of this team  who bring a broad range of skills to the Academy. I am looking forward immensely to working with them in what will be an important year and feel certain that they can make a lasting contribution that will be appreciated long after they have moved to the next stage of their lives.
 
One area where the team will represent the student body is with the design detail of many aspects of the new building. We have decisions to make in relation to furniture, ICT and also have to consider wall and floor colours. I will also be looking to the students to make a major contribution to the design of all the external areas.  This will provide them with a superb educational experience as they work alongside the architects and landscape designers from A-Studio, helping them to see how demanding but exciting jobs like these can be. In relation to the new building I am pleased to say that we have completed the major demolition work and
are now firmly into the building phase. The Leadbitter construction team are now forming massive concrete pads on which the major structural elements will be built. At this point in time we are right on schedule. I will give a more detailed update of the building project in a future edition of Twickenham Talk.
 
Before finishing my comments on the student leadership team I would like to mention Suzy Hart, Team Leader for the Upper College, who arranged the elections and supported the students through this process. Thank you Miss Hart!
 
Nick Jones, Principal